Mr. And Mrs. Hewitt of Little Haven were as normal as one could imagine and any neighbour would tell so, a common family they’d say. They were good friends of old Mrs. Rees from down the road and she would happily talk about them as if they were her own children.

Mr. Hewitt was an accountant, young but very capable with numbers, he was a tall blond man of aristocratic features. Mrs. Hewitt was a preschool teacher, shorter than her husband, she had long red hair and freckles on her face, quick to laugh she often contrasted her husband more reserved personality.The Hewitts had two children, a small daughter and an older son, and on their off days one would usually see the small family spending time together.

The Hewitts had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that someone would discover it.

But it wasn’t on that day that the story began, it started many years in a different time, on a dark night, when a boy of sixteen ran from a tower.

Spells were flying by but Draco didn’t care any more, he had failed, he couldn’t kill Dumbledore, would the Dark Lord even care that he brought the Death Eaters into Hogwarts? Or would he kill him for having Snape do the killing and not fulfilling his mission? And if he didn’t kill him, what did he have to live for?

He wanted to lie down, to forget that terrible year, pretend that he wasn’t going home to a wand to his throat and all that he had to worry about was school grades and how to be better than Potter.

Nothing made sense any more and no one could save him.

Snape was rushing him away but he barely registered it, even less when the man let him go, something behind them that Draco didn’t care about, he continued on the path almost stumbling.

“YOU!”

The voice reached him as if it was miles away, if I could be miles away, his mind whispered in pain but he forced himself to pay attention, to come back to where he actually was. In front of him was Weasley, the girl, he remembered she and some others of Potters friends had come and somehow survived the attacks.

She glared at him and he raised his wand at her but his hand still trembled from before, Draco hoped she didn’t notice, being arrested by them, by her, didn’t sound much better than life in the mansion.

“You disgusting, treacherous...snake!” she screamed while running, getting closer to him.

“Stay back, I’ll kill you!”

Big words for the one who couldn’t kill an old man before he pushed those thoughts down, together with everything else, Bellatrix made sure he could push everything away, playing with his memories as she went.

“You let them in!” he tried to hex her but couldn’t control his hand and missed “How could you?!”

The Weasley girl didn’t care for his attempts at magic, failing as he was to actually hit her general direction, instead she grabbed him by the collar, forcing him to look at her, righteous fury shining in her eyes. She hated him, and he remembered the one from her side that he had stumbled upon before.

He didn’t have anything to say, feel sorry for the ones he had spent his lifetime hating? Even if he did, what good would it do now? Draco didn’t have anything that he could offer, money and power had failed him, he was nothing.

He was alone.

She opened her mouth to speak or to curse him, he had no idea because it was then that a stray spell hit them.

He felt a push, not unlike what he’d expect from a portkey but he was sure that what hit them was a spell not any object, Weasley couldn’t apparate, and it wouldn’t matter if she could, they were still within the confines of Hogwarts. Did death feel like a portkey?

But when the feeling stopped, they were definitely somewhere else, and it wasn’t the beyond, it was...a road?

It was stupid going after Malfoy as her luck was running out, Ginny thought as she looked around them, stupid gets you alone with the enemy.

The road they were on didn’t have many people in it, or any really, aside from her and Malfoy there was an old couple entering their home and a man but he soon left too, in the distance on other roads she could see some kids, in costumes? She wasn’t sure.

She turned her wand back on Malfoy she asked “Where are we?!”

“Do you think I know?!” he looked as perplexed as she felt but after the night they had she wasn’t about to trust he was telling the truth.

“Why did you bring us here?”

She tried again but Malfoy didn’t felt like answering her, choosing instead to walk toward one of the other roads. He didn’t go far however, almost tripping on his own feet he instead decided to sit on the pavement.

“Malfoy!” It made her so mad, after all he had done he just sat on the ground? Nothing to say? Doing nothing?

“Answer ME!”

He finally looked back at her, she hated that defeated look on his face, it wasn’t like the one he would have after Quidditch or when he didn’t get what he wanted, when he would sneer and insult the closest person he could find, he looked... lost, ready to give up, no sneer, not even hatred.

Just blank silver looking back at her.

With a groan of irritation she sat down on the same spot, not by his side, she rationalized as he stared at her actions.

“Well then,” Ginny began “how do we get back?”

He turned away from her, and she thought that this new introspective Malfoy was too strange, someone she didn’t know.

“Is there really anything to go back?”

Her eyes still on him, her voice turned quiet “Hogwarts, family, friends”

He sneered at that and she couldn’t help but smile despite everything, that was the person she knew “Is there anything for me to go back to?”

“Facing the consequences of your actions?”

She didn’t expect him to laugh, but he did, and in that complicated night, she shared his laughter.

Having a quiet conversation with a Weasley and laughing with her, were not things that he expected would ever happen, but at the moment he truly had nothing else anyway. Going back meant either escaping to be killed by The Dark Lord or being arrested and being killed by The Dark Lord later. Might as well believe in the impossible.

When a voice came from behind them.

“Are you two lost? Do you need help?”

He turned and found a young woman, dark red hair he wanted to joke about a long lost Weasley but didn’t have much energy for that, her clothes spoke of someone that had expected a peaceful night and he realized he must look terribly dishevelled.

“We-” his companion began, unsure of how to continue and he watched as her face showed every frase she considered before settling on “We are confused, we weren’t supposed to be here”

The woman smiled at them, deep green eyes softening at the teenagers in front of her “It’s quite late now, I live nearby, you can stay the night and in the morning we can think about it, sound good?”

It sounded way too good for Draco, it was hard to believe that someone would just open their house to strangers, especially in difficult times, what could they want? But even as he thought about it his whole body protested, somewhere warm where he could rest sounded fantastic at the moment, what did he have to lose?

He looked at Ginny questioningly, she answered with a nod before turning to the woman and accepting the hospitality. They followed her to a cottage but he couldn’t make out anything too specific about the place, it was dark and he was just too tired.

They entered the home and followed the woman to the living room, he and Weasley awkwardly sat on the couch when sounds of giggling came from the upstairs, the woman looked up and smiled.

“My husband, he’s taking care of the baby, they will be here soon” she explained gently. “I will get us some tea”

“Uh, Thank you” Draco said, unsure of what to do, if she asked what they were doing alone out there he didn’t know what to answer.

She smiled at them and moved to the kitchen, probably understanding their defensive behaviour.

He was still looking at the closed door when Weasley turned to him, her expression a determined seriousness.

“Will you come back to Hogwarts with me or will you run away to them” she didn’t need to specify the them and he felt the dread creep back, told himself to ignore it.

Draco looked at his hands “I don’t know” he said the truth.

“We’ll think about it tomorrow” she conceded, as tired as him.

The door to the kitchen opened again, the woman now holding two teacups walked back to the living room and put the teacups on the coffee table in front of them.

“Thanks” said Weasley before drinking her tea.

Nothing happened so he felt it was safe to drink, taking in the warmth of the beverage and feeling less tired now.

“Better now?” the woman asked gently and they nodded, “Well then! I’m-”

“Hey, Lils, do you know where is Harry’s toy car?” a man asked going down the stairs, his young son on his hip.

“It should be in the toy box” she replied calmly.

“Already checked, think Harry moved it?”

“It’s possible, want me to look?”

“Nah, we’ll look later, you have guests... something wrong? Do I have something on my face?”

Draco was sure his look of horror was mirrored by Weasley, because standing on the stairs was Harry Potter, only it couldn’t be.

One was the man, he looked almost identical to the boy they knew but the man had brown eyes instead of green, so similar the differences screamed at them, like a puzzle with pieces in the wrong place, it made no sense.

The other was the baby, bright green eyes on an innocent face, no scars to mar the skin, just a smiling baby with his parents, it was impossible.

There had to be another explanation because how could they be looking at James Potter and an infant Harry Potter?

“Uh, We need to talk, can we use your kitchen?” without waiting for the answer he dragged a still speechless Weasley to the room he glanced at before.

Draco paced around the room, he stopped to look at Weasley. She was looking at the door aghast, as confused as him. Whatever had happened to them, they couldn’t stay, he turned to speak to her, end the stupor. “We need to run”

“Run? We can help them!”

Of course, leave it to a Weasley to be foolishly righteous at the worst moments.

“Help? It’s already the day!! You saw the people outside!” he tried to make her understand his terror, she had to see the urgency “For all we know he’s already outside and we are targets, no one aside from Scarhead survived!”

“Always YOU! They have been betrayed, they need to know!” the weariness from before was gone, she looked as battle-ready as before, of course, Draco thought, that will only get her killed.

“NEED? They are already dead, we should not have to follow them!” he felt he had raised his voice too much on that one but nothing seemed different, he could vaguely tell that the family was just enjoying their time, he felt the heaviness of how peaceful they were and what he knew was about to come.

Heaviness was not all he could feel, Weasley was still talking but he ignored it, focusing instead on the other feeling, a dread starting from his left arm and spreading to his whole body.

He was here.

Draco turned to the Weasley girl and pulled her to him, his hand on her mouth and the other to prevent her from moving.

He held on to her even as she kicked and bite him, desperate to free herself and do something impulsive and destructive, even as she cried.

He held on to her even as outside of that room the voices became frantic, a little too loud, probably as a warning to them, and he hoped the Potters were the only ones that knew they were there.

He held on to her even as outside of that room The Dark Lord continued his murderous path.

The spell rebound and the world seemed to come to a stop for a moment.

Malfoy let her go then and she sobbed into his shirt, somehow they had done something no one else had thought possible, gone back to the past without a time-turner, so many opportunities and chances in front of them for better.

And they still couldn’t save a family.

She wanted to scream at him, hex him, anything if she could stop feeling as she did in that moment. What did she expect to achieve? A fifteen-year-old against Voldemort at the height of his power?

Draco moved toward the door, she followed and side by side they exited the kitchen.

The first body they found was James Potter, his eyes still open, glasses lopsided. They continued up the stairs, the spell had blown part of the house and the roof was ready to cave in but they carried on towards the nursery, as they got closer the cries of the baby got louder. The second was Lily Potter, her body still in front of her child, a protector even in death.

And to their horror, a third was Voldemort himself, although that didn’t leave them at peace, they knew that body was just what was left behind when the spell separated him, they knew too well that he was still alive. So instead they turned to the only one alive left.

Harry looked at them, a scar now on his forehead, his eyes still full of tears but he quietened as he looked at them, hoping for care he extended a small hand to them.

“We can’t leave him like this”

“We can’t leave him like this”

Draco turned to look at the girl beside him like she was crazy but Ginny didn’t care, she knew what she had to do.

“Why?” he asked, still trying to process the tragedy they were now a part of “You know how it goes, they will just send Potter to his muggle family, we would do better to just get out before they think we have something do with this”

“You have no idea” she responded now looking into his eyes “His aunt and uncle are awful, they can’t be trusted with him, I won’t let them near him”

He tried to argue but she turned to him, fire in her eyes “We couldn’t save his family, we can’t let him go to the Dursleys to be mistreated,” she raised her wand to his face “The question is, what side will you be on, Malfoy? What is your choice?”

Draco groaned, choices, choices, choices, he was sick of them, he was free after a year of hell and with at least thirteen years of freedom in sight, and he was still required to make choices for things he didn’t ask for. Dumbledore had offered him choices and had died by a man he thought he could trust, the Dark Lord had given him none and still promised death if he made the wrong one, and to him, those were all the ones that didn’t benefit him, so not a lot of margin for error.

Now she asked him to make another choice.

“There is nothing for me out there” he finally said.

“Then run if you think that will keep you safe!” she screamed at him, and yet, she lowered her wand “But if you stay, I need to be able to trust you”

She moved to the crib and picked the baby Harry, soothing him the best that she could.

He had no need to stay and follow her, he could leave, never see her again, never have to be part of the Dark Lord senseless war again, he had no reason to choose her, to choose them. All he needed to do was leave.

With Harry in her arms now calm, she turned to Malfoy and saw him taking off his uniform sweater. Her confusion must’ve been apparent cause he answered with a shrug “It’s going to be cold” before using the cloth as a makeshift blanket.

She looked at him surprised, Ginny truly expected to turn around and find herself alone, expected even less to be helped.

Draco rolled his eyes at the way she looked at him “I’m not that cruel that I would just let a child freeze”

Ginny smiled despite all, they could figure themselves out later, now it was about Harry.

“If you truly want to avoid sending Potter to his muggle family, we will need to go now, others will be here soon, and not just your side”

She nodded and they disappeared into the night.

The sun appeared in the sky, marking the dawn with bright yellow and light pink hues, they had been walking for hours, putting as much distance from Godric’s Hollow as they could, glad that Harry had decided to sleep making their journey thankfully silent.

Draco decided to break that silence and ask the girl next to him, “You know the muggles better than I, any idea of what to do next?” all while looking around at the beginning of muggles morning routines. They didn’t really know where to go, but soon the wizarding world would flood the street of even the muggle communities and they couldn’t be found with the boy who lived.

“Hermione once told me that there is, uh, help for families in need but I’m not sure where that would be, she went on a tangent about the muggle government and lost me halfway through” Ginny couldn’t help blushing at that admission, it wasn’t her fault, she couldn’t have known at the time that she would be one day trying to hide in the muggle world with a toddler.

“Brilliant” she could hear the sarcasm in his voice and glared at him.

They continued to walk, ignoring their bodies pleas for rest when Draco seemed to spot something in the early morning commuters and decided to push her into the alley, she was about to protest but he quickly pointed to the street, where a group of wizards were celebrating and only when they were out of sight did Draco and Ginny breathe again.

“We need to find some place to stay” Draco stated firmly, hand in his dishevelled hair, so far from the carefully maintained style in Hogwarts Ginny had to hold back a laugh, oh how the mighty had fallen, she was so tempted to tell him so.

“We don’t have money” she decided to tell him instead, their fragile alliance more important.

The blond reached the into his pocket and took out a silver bracelet “My mother gave me this for my sixteenth birthday, silver since I wasn’t of age yet, I’m not sure what it’s worth but it’s pure silver, weighty, I just need to know how muggle money works”

“Oh, that I know,” she said brightening “It’s actually not very difficult once you get the basics”

They smiled at each other, a tired smile, their complicated partnership allowing a moment of levity.

Harry chose that moment to wake up.

Ginny turned to the child in her arms, she had a big family, she thought she’d be able to figure this out, she was supposed to rock him back and forth, maybe, possibly, hopefully. Draco just stared at the two unsure, he was an only child, one of Hagrid monsters seemed preferable to the screaming baby.

And screaming babies gather attention.

“Are you okay?”

The woman that approached them looked quite older, perhaps mid-fifties, dressed in muggle clothing which was a relief to them, her face a mix of curiosity and concern.

“We can handle --” Draco dismissed but Ginny stopped him.

She smiled at the woman and in her fakest pitiful tone asked “Could you help us? We don’t have any money and nowhere to go”

“What are you doing?” he whispered but Ginny only glared at him.

Draco rolled his eyes, they would have to ask someone eventually anyway. Really, it was having to mix with the muggles that he couldn’t handle, but they couldn’t go to the wizarding world, every wizard and witch would be looking for Potter very soon and if they found them, the question of why he and Ginny were at Godric’s Hollow would come up and the mark on his arm made him very much persona non grata, so muggles it was.

He wanted to groan.

The woman meanwhile looked from one to the other, taking in their ragged appearance, the screaming child in a makeshift blanket, to Ginny surprise, she... cried?

“Oh, you poor dears, thrown out of your house?” she asked gently, a hand on Ginny shoulder meant to be comforting “There are terrible parents like this, throwing young couples out just like you”

The woman commiserated the cruelty of those situations while Ginny and Draco looked at her in a mix of hilarity and pure terror. Not sure what was more troubling, the idea of her thinking they had an unplanned pregnancy or that they were in love.

Choosing to focus on the disgust and take the opportunity, Draco then said “Yeah, something like that”

That did the trick, taking the older woman out of her rant she turned to look with commiseration at them “We can go to the nearby grocery for food and then you two can sleep in my hotel room, you don’t seem to have slept in a while”

“We can’t pay you back” he wanted to make sure the woman understood their circumstance, it would do no good to have an angry muggle demanding compensation later.

“No need for that boy, what kind of person would I be if I just left you two alone here” she explained and although Draco continued to eye her with suspicion, that seemed to just make her beam at him “Oh, how adorable, a young man so protective of his family”

Once she turned her back, Ginny and Draco shared a look of exasperation, might as well follow in her delusions.

The grocery was the first time Draco ever saw a muggle store, everything so strange to him, the prices he couldn’t understand, the strange packets the woman put in the metal basket at her side, and what appeared to be disgusting goo, supposedly for children. At least he didn’t have to eat that.

After his first glimpse at paying with muggle money and exiting the store, the woman led them to one of those muggle vehicles, Ginny being far more comfortable than him when they got in. He kept track of where they were going, he had no doubt that they could overpower any muggle but he rather not have to and attract attention to them. The woman however seemed to be every bit the helpful strange she claimed to be and they followed her two stairs up into a small but comfortable room.

The attention reverted to the baby, first it started with a convoluted story about car accidents to explain the scar, the red-head had a way with words and he had to admit it was even amusing, but then Ginny and the woman started talking about changing diapers and he decided to run.

“I will take a shower!”

The woman smiled and gave him one of the packets from before, apparently these had male clothing inside, he thanked her and ignoring Ginny glare, he went to the only other room, finally able to wash away the grime of that terrible day.

The clothes were egregious but they would do for now, he went out and the woman smiled at him, is she always smiling? Draco thought, turning then to Ginny, she first glared at him before faking a saccharine smile that scared him more than the glare.

“Good then, now that you are here, love,” she said emphasizing the word with distaste “I can go take a bath”

Of course, you damn harpy, he cursed as she handed him a much calmer, and sporting a new onesie, Potter. They stared at each other, unsure of how to act with the other.

“He has already been changed and fed, thankfully he was hungry and made no fuss, you were there for a while” the woman offered sympathetically.

Yeah, because I wanted to avoid this, but he couldn’t say that, opting to instead observe the baby, not only was he calmer, he looked to be about to fall asleep again.

“You don’t hold him very often, do you?” she asked him, amused with a slight reproach.

“No, usually W-well she is the one to... do this,” he said lamely, having to change the frase mid-sentence. The woman shook her head but didn’t lose her smile, instead she came closer and showed him how to hold the sleepy Potter.

At once, the new comfortable position lulled the child back to sleep, his hand holding on to Draco’s clothing and it hit him then.

They were about to take care of that child, they would have to be the ones responsible for him now, it scared Draco, made him want to run away, but it also held a sense of familiarity, out of that room, away from there was a world he had no part in, one he’d have to face alone, but to stay, that was a mystery he could live with them, with Potter, with Weasley.

He knew then that he’d choose them again.

The older woman, for all her early eccentricity, seemed to pick up his feelings perfectly this time.

“How-” he started but she only shook her head.

“You don’t owe me nothing darling”

It was different, receiving without pressure to pay back, far from what he had learned from his father.

Draco realized then that he didn’t know her name “Thank you, uh, miss...?”

“I sure am many years away from miss, but that was nice to hear,” she laughed “I’m Maeve Rees, darling”

“Thank you, Mrs. Rees” he said truthfully.

“Everything alright?”

The reappearance of Ginny thankfully distracted the woman from asking his name, once they were alone he’d have to talk to Ginny about new names, he would have to give up the name Malfoy, as much as he didn’t want to.

“How little faith” he rolled his eyes, she raised her eyebrow at him, she wasn’t wrong after all but he chose to ignore that detail.

Mrs. Rees let a small laugh and instead of picking a side, chose to direct them to sleep.

Just like Harry had done before, as soon as they were comfortably on the bed they fell asleep. Finally resting in their new world.

Ginny woke up to the sound of Harry starting to fuss, they had slept for quite some time and it was now mid-afternoon, he was probably hungry. She picked up Harry and considered waking up Draco too but there was little reason to, as she looked down the street there were still plenty of witches and wizards going around so it was better for them if they stayed in the hotel room for the moment and he had no idea what to do.

She, at least, had a vague idea.

“Awake I see!” Mrs. Rees greeted her when she passed the armchair by the telly.

“Yeah, Harry made his wishes very clear” she joked, Ginny liked Mrs. Rees, eccentric as she seemed back in the alley, the older woman had been very helpful and kind to them.

The older woman laughed “Ah! I remember that age, my youngest would let me know he was hungry from the other side of the house” Ginny smiled, leaving the woman to her memories.

“Let’s see where Mrs. Rees put the baby mush” she refused to call that food, but Mrs. Rees looked surprised when she reached for formula, so she imagined that at one year old, babies moved to that mush with the static picture of some way too happy child and had quickly changed course.

She spotted the mush in a small box by the bed, when she opened it was cold like a freezing cabinet back home and remembered Hermione talking to her dad about the muggle fridge, she figured this was it. She took the one with the image of a pear, hoping that fruit would be better than the meat ones.

When Ginny turned the room’s extra bedding had been turned into a semi-circle on the rug and Mrs. Rees looked at her guiltily “I’m sure that if we are careful and put everything back in their place it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Ginny laughed and put Harry down on the rug, he looked happy to see the mush and tried to reach it.

“Oh, what an independent boy,” the older woman cooed at Harry “but not yet, you should let mummy help you for some more time”

While she knew Mrs. Rees had made assumptions about them and that those assumptions benefited them, it still was so strange to hear the woman call her Harry’s mother, like she was stealing someone else’s place.

Ginny forced herself to ignore that feeling for now, uncapping the mush instead, gently bringing the spoonful to Harry that seemed very interested in getting the mush on his hand and then all over his face. She could barely tell how much he was actually eating from the ones she couldn’t prevent him from hijacking.

Mrs. Rees put a hand to her shoulder as she tried to avoid the baby now dirty hands “You don’t need to stress about it, it’s natural at his age to want to play with food, good even”

Ginny turned to her, looking unsure “But what if he isn’t eating enough? It’s more on his hair than in his mouth”

The older woman just smiled “If he is still hungry then he will let you know, just trust his instincts, it is strange with your first child, I know I still worry about mine from time to time, but you’ll see, you just need to work together, all of you” and with a look, indicated the still sleeping Draco.

Ginny felt very unsure about that, the idea of ever fully trusting Draco Malfoy hit an open wound way too soon, he was selfish and intolerant and vain, they didn’t get along, had different views on everything and he had caused so much pain, he was a Death Eater for fuck’s sake. He also prevented her from going against Voldemort to be certainly killed.

Ginny almost hated him for that the most.

The way he looked at her, blank stare on red-rimmed eyes, longing to be far away, it didn’t help that the new clothing highlighted how bad he let his health get throughout that terrible year, even now a pained scowl marred his sleeping face, like someone who hadn’t slept right for weeks and was now hurting because of it.

She had given him a choice and she needed to make her own.

She asked trust, could she give him her trust?

Could she trust him just enough to let him earn it?

Deciding to not think about it for now, she turned back to Harry, dirtier than ever as he had found the mush jar and stuck his whole hand in it, Ginny sighed, that would be so much easier to deal with a scourgify, but they weren’t sure how the trace would work and she didn’t want to risk it. They would have to do things the muggle way at least until Draco turned seventeen.

Now that she thinks about it, when did he turn seventeen?

Not just his birthday, time in general, was October a setback or a jump forward? Did they count as a year older?

“So how old is he?”

“Huh?”

“Harry, how old is he?”

“Oh!” it had scared Ginny for a second “He turned one in July”

Mrs. Rees frowned and Ginny stiffened but when the woman looked at her it was with curiosity and concern rather than accusation “How did you last a year with a child to look after?”

“A family friend helped us” she lied, using her best tone of casualty.

“And this supposed friend just left the two of you alone now?!”

The protectiveness of Mrs. Rees reminded Ginny of her own mother, it warmed her to see that kindness on other people but it also was a painful reminder that she couldn’t see her.

So instead Ginny deflected the question “I’ve been meaning to ask, why are you staying at a hotel? You don’t live nearby?” and the conversation turned to the more casual topic.

“No, I live in Little Haven” the woman explained, regaining her normal smile “My older son is moving to a new neighbourhood and the doctors are confident his little girl will be born in a few days, so I’ve been staying close”

“We won’t impose then” Ginny tried for a reassuring smile “We will leave in the morning, sorry for the nuisance”

“Nothing to be sorry for, darling.” Mrs. Rees laughed and shook her head “Us, the older generation, should take care of you, the new generation, our future”

She has no idea of how right she is, thought Ginny.

“But this does make me wonder, where do you plan to go next?”

Ginny blushed then, she wished she had paid more attention to Hermione, now she wouldn’t feel like stumbling in the dark “Well, we were talking of asking... government help, I think?”

“Welfare, then?” the older woman seemed to think about it for a moment, Ginny had no idea what to do.

“Is it, a bad thing?” she hesitated.

“Not really, just the prejudice of some people” the woman sighed irritated “Thinking they are so superior but hopefully everything works out for you three”

Ginny held back a smirk, she knew the feeling and couldn’t wait to see Malfoy’s reaction.

“Where, uh, can we search for it?”

“You will have to walk for a bit, follow the main road until the red building then turn right, take the second road and you will have arrived, getting there early should help avoid the queue”

Ginny smiled and hugged the older woman “Thanks!”

From then the conversation turned back to casual with Ginny trying to understand the woman rants about a muggle show on the telly, something about a... PI? She had no idea what a PI was supposed to be but agreed whenever it felt appropriate and shook her head when the tone went in disbelief. Mrs. Rees then helped her to bathe Harry and once the woman decided to go sleep on the couch, despite her offering to take the couch instead, Ginny sat down back on the bed with Harry, telling him the bedtime stories she heard as a child, memories of her life that she didn’t want to leave behind.

She wanted to see her family again, but to them, she was only a baby, and as well-intentioned as her mother was, Molly Weasley would listen to Dumbledore and leave Harry with the Dursleys.

She wouldn’t let anyone do that, she would protect her small new family, even Malfoy if necessary.

***

Far away from there, in number four Privet Drive, an old wizard named Albus Dumbledore awaited the arrival of the now nicknamed Boy Who Lived, the news of the disappearance of Voldemort, although at the high cost of the lives of Lily and James Potter, had spread far and wide.

Witches and Wizards everywhere were celebrating the end of hold over the magical community, the imperiused returning, victims feeling safe once again, peace seemingly back.

But Dumbledore knew better, and his hopes resided in that boy, in Harry Potter.

He was explaining to Minerva McGonagall his plans of leaving the boy with his aunt and uncle and easing her fears over that choice when the sound of a motorcycle made them turn.

He smiled, prepared for the half-giant to bring the boy to him but it soon became clear something had gone wrong, Hagrid came crying to them, no child in sight. He tried to explain to them but the crying didn’t make it an easy task.

“Calm down, we can’t understand,” reprimanded Minerva but then softened “breathe and it will be better”

Hagrid nodded and began again “Nowhere, searched the whole house but couldn’t find the babe” he broke into tears again “He disappeared before I arrived”

Dumbledore was perplexed, only the Potters were in the cottage in Godric’s Hollow and he had sent Hagrid as soon as he had known about Voldemort killing them, so how come had Harry Potter disappeared? Who could’ve arrived before them?

Minerva gasped “Albus! Is it possible that one of those Death Eaters took him?”

He faked a serene expression, his companions didn’t need any more reason to worry “Unlikely, if any had been close by, Harry Potter would already be dead and they would gladly gloat about such thing, alas, the boy has merely disappeared, more likely a muggle found him when the wards broke”

That seemed to calm the other two for the moment.

“For the time being, we will send people to search for him so that he may be given to his proper family”

Minerva would have liked to disagree on that point but as it was, searching for the boy was most important than her worry over his blood kin.

Remus Lupin sat in Dumbledore’s office, he was in Hogwarts after so many years but he barely paid attention to the place he had lived in for seven years of his life. If he let himself feel that nostalgia and indulge in the memories he would surely break.

Every place he’d look would bring the ghost laughter of James and Peter, the painful reminder of who Sirius had become, and him, the only one that remained.

He had lost so much, turned into a monster against his will at a young age, alone for most of his life he had finally, finally, found people who cared and loved him, but he hadn’t been allowed a simple life, You-Know-Who was a threat to everyone and he only got stronger as time went on. They had to fight him, give everything they could so a madman wouldn’t be capable of dictating the lives of thousands of innocents, fight for the many that had already been killed and then, the one thing James and Lily couldn’t give up, their son, was threatened and they had to hide away.

Even that had not been enough.

His heart ached for every lost one, alone again, he continued to live, fighting his own shadows, against all odds and to his own surprise, he had one small hope, guiding him on. That hope was why he was at Hogwarts in the first place.

He stood up when he heard Dumbledore entering the office, the headmaster smiled to him and calmly walked toward the desk.

“Remus, I wish it had been a better situation to see you again but I hope you tried some of the candy, we should all be able to find the small happinesses in these new days”

He attempted a smile but managed only a tired grimace, he wasn’t here for that anyway.

“Good to see you too, sir”

Dumbledore, however, shook his head “I don’t suppose casual talk is what you came to talk to me” the older man sat down in his chair and motioned to Remus to do the same.

Remus winced, his voice failing he sat back down and took a deep breath before starting.

“There have been rumours, about Harry, some--” he looked down at his hands “Some even say he died with You-Know-Who”

“I wish I could tell you those rumours were all lies” his heart skipped a beat and he turned to look at the headmaster, whose furrowed expression made his stomach drop.

“Then Harry is--” it hurt too much to even think about it.

The headmaster then met his eyes, he tried to read what they told but couldn’t find an answer.

“No,” the older man said finally “I don’t think Harry Potter is dead”

Remus was sure that if he tried to stand now he would fall, his hands and legs shook with anxiety, he had so many questions, if he wasn’t dead, then where was he? Why had those rumours spread? What did Dumbledore meant by saying that the rumours were not false?

He settled on asking the latter.

Dumbledore nodded at his choice, taking his time to answer in a satisfactory manner.

“The absolute truth as we know it,” the man started “is that on that night of October, when aurors arrived in Godric’s Hollow, the baby Harry Potter was nowhere to be found”

Remus listened afraid that even breathing would prevent him from knowing.

“Even before that, I had sent Hagrid, I was afraid that with the disappearance of their leader, some of his most fanatical followers might try to hurt the only survivor of that night”

“Then you think one of the Death Eaters have him now?!” he asked rapidly but one look from the headmaster told him to just listen.

“When he arrived, the boy was not there, it worried me more than I wished to admit” Dumbledore said gently “But as the night turned into day I knew that they couldn’t have taken him”

“But how are you sure?!” Remus begged.

Dumbledore smile returned, looked deep into his eyes and he felt eleven again, standing in front of the professor that always seemed to know more than he let on.

“They thrive on the attention, with their master gone they would turn aggressive, I already knew that” Dumbledore tried to make Remus see how important that was “And yet nothing, a day has gone by and they are as lost as we are, if they had taken the boy, we would already have heard from them, instead they scattered, some loyal, some fleeing to avoid imprisonment, but none claiming to hold a green-eyed child”

Remus let that information sink in, they didn’t have him, they didn’t have Harry, he could almost see the relief filling him, but his first question remained and he couldn’t relax just yet “Then, where is Harry?”

“That... is what we don’t know”

***

“Take the riiight at the red building” Ginny read from the paper where she had written Mrs. Rees information, balancing Harry on her hip.

Draco rolled his eyes but accepted without saying anything, they turned but quickly pretended to be talking, as close as they could, with Harry readjusted to the front, obscured by them.

Before leaving the hotel they had put Harry in his new baby beanie, making sure it would cover his scar but also his hair, just in case, that morning they had noticed that along with some of the still celebrating wizards, in the midst of the muggles, the uniform of the aurors could be seen.

The search for the Boy Who Lived had started.

When he was sure the wizard had left, Draco turned to Ginny and indicated a store on the other side of the road.

“There’s a pawn shop there, we will need the money,” he shrugged and eyed the road again “There might still be some around here, give them time to search elsewhere”

Ginny wanted to avoid the lines but, to her annoyance, had to agree with Malfoy, she begrudgingly nodded and hoped they weren’t held up too long.

They entered the shop uncomfortably close and took the room as a way to get finally some space, Ginny sat on a chair by the window and put Harry down in front of her, it just looked as if she was playing with him and he would be hidden, Draco meanwhile turned to the shop owner.

The burly older man gave one look at him, young with ill-fitting clothing, he could just tell what was going on in his head, because it was exactly what he would assume in his place, Draco was glad Weasley had decided to stay away, the irony was killing him.

Taking a deep breath he ignored that and turned instead to the man, he had had to deal with worse than that, he could do it.

“I’m here to sell this bracelet”

He then put the bracelet in front of himself, ensuring that the owner would have to reach for it, the man sighed, expecting something cheap, ready to laugh at his youngster bravado.

The owner quickly weighed the jewellery in his hand, rolling his eyes, it didn’t felt like much but he nevertheless took his scale and put the bracelet in.

Draco however smiled when the man’s eyes widened, it had felt so light in his hand but on the scale it gave a completely different weight, he tried with his reserve scale to no avail, same result. He eyed Draco with suspicion but decided to analyse the metal instead.

The bracelet was more perfect than any he had seen and nothing like sterling silver, it didn’t make sense, it wasn’t plastic and it wasn’t silver plated, but pure silver was too soft to create jewellery, and yet, the more he searched, the more the answer seemed to be just that. Of course, Draco knew that what made his bracelet was magic, nothing dangerous, just the necessary spells to mould silver but the man would never need to know.

The suspicion grew as he looked the teenager up and down, so the owner asked him accusingly “Did you steal this?!”

Draco rolled his eyes wondering if he would need to invent some sob story “It was my mother’s.”

“Can you prove it?” the man asked.

“This is an unique piece, you won’t see another like this, I can sell it elsewhere”

“I can call the cops”

Driving his feelings deep down, he offered a shrug “They will just agree with me”

The owner looked again at the bracelet, could he risk it? If it had been stolen, he wouldn’t see it again and if the boy was telling the truth then he would turn away a client.

“Do you want to redeem this later?”

Draco bit back a smile and faked a pitiful expression “No, too many memories”

It wasn’t a complete lie, it was a painful remainder of his mother but aside from his wand, he would now have to be a muggle, muggles don’t need magical bracelets.

The man nodded, even more interested.

“I will give you five hundred”

The blond didn’t know how much that was but he was sure he could get more.

“That much? Are we talking about the same thing?”

The owner groaned “A thousand then, it’s double”

Draco debated pushing his luck, if he could pull this off, he would have only one last shot.

He took the bracelet with calculated show, shaking his head “I knew the other shop looked better handled”

“Two thousand!” the man hurried “It’s my last offer”

Draco smiled and handed the bracelet back to the man “It’s a deal then”

When the man went in the back to get the money, Ginny joined him again but he couldn’t tell what she was thinking, her eyes and expression unreadable to him at that moment, it was very frustrating considering how easily she let her emotions show, reading her had been the most fun he had in... almost two months if he was honest with himself. She had that brand Weasley personality and could never really hide from him, he hoped she didn’t start now.

But that expression was gone before he could ask her about it and instead she turned a mocking smile to him “So you can use your trickery for good, huh?”

He rolled his eyes but smiled, it was an acknowledgement of sorts, as close to a compliment as he would get from her, he suspected.

“Any more Aurors?”

“None, only muggles”

Grumbling about the youth of today the man returned and handed the money to Draco while focusing solely on the bracelet, they decided to leave well enough alone and just exit the shop.

“Do you think-- second road, here,” they turned “do you think that is enough?” Ginny asked.

Draco eyed the money in his hand suspiciously, sighing he decided to just shove the notes in his pocket “We will find out.”

They assessed the building in front of them.

This was the most important part of their plan, they could escape the wizarding world grasp only if they could pretend to be normal muggles, and this was the beginning of that.

Draco and Ginny shared a look full of uncertainty and together they entered the building.

They looked around the place, it wasn’t packed but there already were plenty of people, the queue would only make them more anxious and that wasn’t a pleasant thought.

A man nearby eyed them up and down and rolled his eyes, he then pointed to a strange device they had never seen before.

“You need a number and when you go in to talk, don’t waste anyone’s time, you hear me?”

“Sure” Ginny offered, as long as they didn’t have to talk more than it was necessary to that man it was perfect.

Draco took one of the papers from the machine and peering over his shoulder Ginny read the number 138.

“I assume they are going to call us” he rationalized “What number do you think it’s at now?”

Ginny shrugged.

The voice from one of the booth reached them then...

“Number 56 to booth 4!”

They shared a groan and sat down on the plastic chairs on the side.

He had finally had a good night of sleep and the wait still made him want to just go back to bed and when it didn’t make him sleepy, it made him restless and he had to pace in front of the two chairs they had claimed. Harry meanwhile had decided Ginny’s hair was the most interesting thing in the room and began to pull on it, she wanted him to stop but the moment she took his hands from her hair he just started screaming, gaining her the disapproving looks of most of the people in the building, so she just resigned herself to the slow scalping of her hair from a toddler.

That hell continued on for two hours.

“Number 138 to booth 2”

To say they run to the booth would be an understatement.

“Good day, what can I help you two?” came the tired voice of the employee on the other side, a brown-haired, bored-looking woman in her mid-thirties.

“Yes, we have become homeless a few days ago” Draco started.

“Car accident, tragic, crocodiles may have been involved” Ginny added to the very unimpressed woman.

“And we don’t have a job and as you can see,” he pointed at Harry and Ginny raised him a little “we have a child”

They shuddered but agreed that it was the best cover.

“So we--”

“You will need to fill these forms and then present them together with your documents to my colleague at booth seven.” She passed them a stack of papers and a pen, absolutely not caring about them.

Draco eyed the pen with suspicion, he only knew what it was due to a time when one of his father employees used one on some documents, his father had complained to him and his mother about the contraption before firing the man the next day. He didn’t trust the thing and missed his quills.

They sat back down and eyed the papers.

Why becoming a muggle was so hard?

Draco filled the lines in mostly silence with Ginny offering her informations while distracting Harry from grabbing the pen.

“Surname?” he asked before the realization hit him “We will need to use the same surname, won’t we?”

Ginny rolled her eyes “It doesn’t mean anything.”

“It means we will have to pretend we are married,” he said disgusted.

“Daddy dearest would disown you?” Ginny mocked him.

Their whole situation was in many ways very funny but leave it to Malfoy to take it so seriously. Way too seriously, why hadn’t he insulted her back? It was the one thing she knew she could count on now.

Refusing to look up from the papers he finally answered her “Can’t really disown me from Azkaban, can he?”

Was that... resentment? From Draco Malfoy? About his father?

He looked at her from the corner of his eye, noticing her incredulity he shook his head “Of course, everything would have been different if he was there,” he sneered “by now our side would be at the advantage and I would be relaxing in the manor, but since we are here and I’m stuck with you, as you put it, it doesn’t mean anything”

And there it was. It was almost comforting, humanity from Draco Malfoy was a terrible thought.

So terrible it made her laugh and he couldn’t help but join her hysteria, the comedy of their situation finally catching up to him, a few people giving them the side-eye.

“So, back to the important,” Draco said then, more relaxed than before “Who are we?”

Ginny thought about it, she thought about it but nothing. They sat there for a minute but the inspiration refused to come and Harry even started fussing, she sighed and got up “Think about it, I need to go change him”

Draco wouldn’t fight her on it.

Nothing really came up, he couldn’t use a wizard surname as a muggle and he didn’t know any muggle ones, if he ever wanted to be someone else in his life, what would that person be called? That was the problem he supposed, he didn’t want to be someone else, he had grown up with everything he could have ever wished for, raised with the best that money could buy, his life had been what most could only dream of, but he as he was, didn’t exist.

Draco Malfoy was a baby in a manor, still waiting to live that life.

He was the failure with nowhere to go.

Yet.

Smiling, he could almost feel like he was five again, standing in the garden of the manor he had tried to catch the birds that would land on the fountain and his mother had smiled, told him he would get dirty and called him by her side. He had happily obeyed, enjoying the sun he laid his head on his mother’s lap while she read a book out loud for him. He could no longer remember the story but he could remember being unable to pronounce the protagonist’s name, I was so angry, he laughed and remembered the tantrum he made at that, Narcissa had been more patient than he deserved and told him to just say as much as he could.

As much as I can, huh, Draco thought Thank you, Mother.

“Hewitt?” he had been so distracted by the memory he didn’t even notice Ginny returning.

“Is it a problem?”

“No, it works well”

Ginny shrugged, however, eyeing the next question she had an idea.

She asked for the pen and for Draco to hold the papers so that she could write, grumbling as he did so and she rapidly wrote in it before he could notice her expression of mischief. Her small revenge.

“Finished” she announced, waiting for him to notice.

“You look too happy, Weasley, what did you--” his eyes widened.

“DAVID?!”

She laughed, shifting Harry on her hip so she wouldn’t disturb him, she just knew how much Malfoy would hate such a common name.

“Mr. David Hewitt, perfect!” she mocked him, enjoying his look of horror.

“Well then!” he decided to counter-attack “Mrs. Virginia Hewitt”

Draco didn’t know if she paled more from the name or from being his (pretend) wife.

Looking daggers at each other they moved towards booth seven, thankfully free.

Holding a coffee the woman at that booth seemed more awake than the one from before and even smiled at them.

“Finished?” she asked livelily.

“Yeah” Draco nodded and passed her the papers.

She glanced between the papers and then turned back to them “Everything seems in order.”

They weren’t sure what that meant but hoped it meant the end of the whole process and possibly a place to stay.

“All we need is some identification.”

Their stomach sank “...What?”

“Your documents” she explained not understanding why they looked so worried.

“And if we didn’t have those?” Ginny asked, trying a casual tone.

“Well, that’s a problem, we can’t help you without documents”

“Even if we procured those later?” Draco asked, leaning over the counter.

“I’m afraid that to receive your needed identification would require time and we wouldn’t be able to do anything until then” the woman explained patiently.

Ginny tried arguing with her but Draco just looked around them, the booth was far enough from the other booths and no one else seemed to need it at the moment, everyone focused on their own situation.

He took out his wand and pointed at the woman, whispering “Confundus”

The woman’s eyes glazed and Ginny smacked him on the arm and whispered “We are not supposed to do magic!”

“Do you have a better idea?” he put his wand away again “And besides, it’s been two days from the Dark Lord disappearance, they are still dealing with all of that and celebrating, as long as we don’t use it any more they will only receive a notice that someone they think is only a one-year-old did magic and assume it was a mistake”

She glared at him, hoping vividly that he was right she turned to the woman who smiled at them, completely unaware.

“So,” Draco asked “Can you help us?”

“Of course!” the woman said and then started telling the two teenagers how their situation would be from that moment on.

Their new life began.

“Well,” Draco began and Ginny prepared herself “This is a hovel”

They looked around at their new flat, a small living room with an even smaller kitchen attached, two white doors led one, to the one small bedroom and the other, to a small bathroom.

Everything in there was small.

“Feel at home yet, Weasley?” he asked her and received a slap on the arm for it.

“Don’t,” she glared at him “test me, Malfoy.”

Draco just shrugged so she walked inside, putting Harry down he decided to crawl around, curious about his new environment.

Draco observed the child for a moment, his slow progress around the room, and how after some time he searched for the tell-tale of red hair, finding her in the kitchen baby Harry continued on, reassured that someone familiar was nearby. He hadn’t held him since that day with Mrs. Rees, the one time he had to, during their journey there, Harry had cried until Ginny showed up to hold him.

The toddler, if nothing else, tended to avoid him.

“Hey, Weasley,” he called out as she finished putting away the food they bought earlier “do you think Potter can see?”

Ginny turned to look at him, deadpan to his smirk “What are you talking about?”

“I mean, Potter wears glasses,” he continued, impervious to her annoyance, “think it developed later, or does he just assume any ginger is family?”

Ginny gritted her teeth and answered “I don’t know, why don’t you go... do whatever it is that you do”

“Oh, but this is better!”

She was going to strangle him. Sooner or later.

“And on that note, isn’t this weird for you?” he asked, hoping for more to tease her with.

“What do you mean?”

“Only,” he leaned on the kitchen counter “last I heard, weren’t you dating Potter?”

Probably sooner.

Ginny rolled her eyes “That? It was a stupid rumour from Romilda Vane, she was pissed that Harry didn’t want to date her and figured I would be a good scapegoat”

Of course he would find that hilarious. She shook her head and opened the door to the bedroom, his laughter having no choice but to follow her in the tiny flat, and Ginny sighed at the only bed in the room, at least she didn’t have to sleep with Draco alone.

Deciding to ignore it, she opened the little closet and put their new muggle clothing inside while keeping an eye on Harry, her wand always with her. Draco, instead, decided to sit on the couch, still smiling he figured that this new life wouldn’t be so miserable after all.

At least, not as long as he could drive Weasley mad.

Ginny put down the finally sleeping Harry, while he old enough to sleep the whole night, he would often refuse to go to bed and they’d have a battle of wills. It had been almost two weeks and she quickly discovered that letting him win led to crankiness and a lot of crying, so she tried her best on those uncooperative days.

She gently caressed his little head and made sure he wouldn’t fall from the bed before leaving him to sleep.

Closing the door quietly she finally let herself fall on the couch.

She was ready to relax when she heard the door of the bathroom opening and closing, Malfoy had finished his bath, shirt untucked as he finished to button it up, of course it would be a button-up shirt, she thought shaking her head. Ginny stared at him, in the few days since arriving in the past he had managed to regain some of his previous snobbish looks, and while he still pale, it was no longer sickly looking.

A return to normality in a way, as normal as two teenagers out of time would ever be at least.

She smirked, if there was something she’d agree with Malfoy it would be that driving each other mad was simply... fun. Ginny sneaked behind him as he hadn’t noticed her yet.

Because alongside the rest, the meticulous hairstyle had returned and Ginny enjoyed messing it up.

“Weasley!” he exclaimed.

“It looks better now!” she retorted in between laughter “Less plastic!”

“That’s because you are an uncivilized weasel” Draco glared but she didn’t lose her smile.

She got slightly closer and when she got his attention “Said the great bouncing ferret!” she ran away laughing when Malfoy pursued her around the flat.

Even if it had woken Harry up, she had to admit her new life wasn’t so miserable after all.

At least, not as long as Malfoy was so easy to annoy.

He regretted making Weasley mad.

As long as she was the only one in the flat to know how muggle money works, upsetting her led to terrible consequences, he’d take duelling over it any day over the alternative.

Namely, a crying child.

“Look, Potter, it’s a star and it talks” he squeezed the singing toy in front of the baby to no avail, bouncing him up and down wasn’t helping either, the moment the child had realized Ginny wasn’t there anymore he started screaming and hadn’t stopped since.

Talk about cosmic punishments.

He put him down, hoping that perhaps the child would calm down if away from him but instead Harry just looked at him with his blotchy face and tear-filled eyes before raising his little arms to him, Draco sighed and picked him up again, little hands holding his shirt tight now.

“If you want to be held,” he asked the baby, pacing the living room “wouldn’t it be better if you stopped crying?”

It had been a month now, they had been in the past for a month and it still felt strange living in a muggle flat with a Weasley and taking care of a child with her, a child that just so happened to be Harry Potter.

“You know, if you continue crying,” Draco tried his best at a soothing voice “I will have to do something I really don’t want to do”

He continued to shift from one foot to another, imitating what he’d seen Ginny do when putting Harry to sleep.

“Oh, it’s something absolutely terrible,” he said gravely “and yet you ask that of me!”

Was he so desperate for calm that he was deluding himself that Harry screams seemed to lessen?

“Well, since you insist,” he continued in a resigned voice “I now have to wish Weasley to return soon”

He wasn’t crazy yet, the cries were lessening!

“It will be very humiliating you see.” He explained, “How can I maintain my status if I need help any time you cry!”

Harry was now sobbing onto his shirt.

“Exactly! She would love it, too, hold it above me that I wanted for her to be here” he was whispering now “But you need to keep it secret, can you keep a secret Harry?”

Harry only looked at him.

“Good, our secret then.”

Ginny opened the door, back from getting groceries she found Malfoy trying to keep a sobbing Harry entertained, the boy ignoring completely the stuffed star. She smiled.

“I’m back!”

The duo turned to her and Harry smiled, hands reaching out to her and she took him from Malfoy.

“As usual, wanted nothing to do with me” Draco explained rolling his eyes before picking the groceries and going to the kitchen to put them away.

“It was better than the other times.” She laughed at him “Last time he was screaming, how did you calm him this time?”

Draco leaned on the counter and smiled at her “I told him a secret”

“Really?” Ginny asked amused “What?”

“It’s a secret, you are not supposed to tell a secret,” at that Harry laughed, it didn’t matter why he did, but Draco smirked and Ginny shook her head.

“Traitor,” she told Harry.

It had been a month and it seemed as if their new life wouldn’t be miserable after all.

Draco picked one of the items on the shelf, sneered, and put it back. He hated being a muggle, their cheap packages, and obnoxious stores, he’d bumped at least three people since entering and that seemed the least annoying thing that morning.

Just because he’d acclimated didn’t mean he particularly enjoyed spending time near them.

Harry reached out to a bright coloured toy but he just continued past it, ignoring the toddler.

The cart was another annoyance, the screeching was terribly grating on the ears.

Harry made his displeasure known but not quite crying yet, he wanted his toy but Draco wasn’t listening.

The music would be the third, clearly, the generic tune in the background was just irritating, he supposed his tastes were some ten years too early but still, they couldn’t find something better?

Harry was about to scream.

“We are not buying you toys.” He sighed and told the baby “And no, pouting and screaming won’t change the fact that we don’t have money”

Slightly pacified at being acknowledged, Harry frowned but continued to play with his toy star. Draco looked at the child sitting in the cart he was pushing, Harry was babbling incoherently and laughing whenever he squashed the star and it sang.

“Shouldn’t you be talking already?” he asked the toddler, taking some more of the baby mush and putting on the cart, “When do babies talk anyway?”

A girl, he wasn’t sure what age, stopped him as he was about to turn to the next lane, she smiled graciously at him, “Uhm, Hi, couldn’t help but hear you... So, are you his father?”

She was a blonde with brown doe eyes, he supposed she was pretty, but obviously a muggle, an irritating one that approached him and Harry for no reason, when she got closer she tried to pinch Harry’s cheeks but Harry deflected her hand so she gave up, turning back to Draco who just looked at her bored.

“No, I’m just the one taking care of him” he had hoped that she’d leave him alone but she just seemed more eager to talk.

“Adorable, I take care of my younger cousins from time to time,” did she have to get so close? He wondered, ready to turn her down “So I thought, if you need some help, maybe --”

“Hey, Malfoy,” maybe following Ginny to learn about muggle money, hadn’t been a terrible decision after all “I found these at a discount, I guess I could try making something with it”

She raised her eyes from the package and saw the blonde and how both Harry and Draco looked uncomfortable, Draco seemed even glad to see her arrive, in the same way he looked when Harry cried and she was there to take him back that is. She rolled her eyes and smiled at the girl.

“Hello,” she said friendly “My husband is bothering you?”

Draco groaned, of course she wouldn’t just save him.

The girl blushed, taking a few steps back “Oh! I’m sorry... I just-- Sorry!”

They watched her run away then Draco glared at her “Really?”

Ginny laughed “And lose the chance to see you lose the will to live? Nah.”

“Psycho.”

“Why? You interested, isn’t she a bit old for you?” she teased him as they continued their shopping.

“As if I’d go for a muggle” he sneered.

Ginny stopped in her tracks, her smile falling. Their cohabitation, while full of jabs from one another, had been pretty peaceful, in a way, that month had led her to almost forget who Draco Malfoy really was and the reminder wasn’t pretty, more like a punch to the stomach.

The memories were still there and she should have not let herself get comfortable in their new dynamic. It was what she needed, really.

“Weasley?” his expression calm, he asked her, noticing she was left behind, Harry smiling from the cart.

She shook her head and smiled.

“Time to teach you about muggle money” she ran in front of him toward the front to pay.

She didn’t want to admit just yet, that she wanted to get comfortable.

They were going up the stairs, Ginny carrying Harry and Draco carrying the bags when they saw her.

“Mrs. Rees!” Ginny exclaimed smiling.

The woman smiled back and hugged her when they arrived on the third floor.

“Sorry for intruding, you two left the address when you came back to pick your things,” she explained and even Draco had to admit that he didn’t mind that strange muggle “so I thought to drop by to visit.”

“No, it’s alright!” Ginny opened the door and invited her in “Please”

With a simple thank, the woman entered the flat and smiled at Harry’s few toys on the ground. While Draco went to the kitchen, Ginny put Harry on the ground, as she often did when they got back from the store but this time he crawled to Mrs. Rees, raising his arms, asking to be held.

The woman happily obliged and Ginny thought that it was the first time someone other than she or Draco held him.

She smiled and asked “And about your son? Is his daughter well?”

Mrs. Rees delighted in the chance to speak about her granddaughter “She was born a week after you left, they named her Daisy!” she exclaimed “Oh! She is perfect, absolutely adorable, a handful as any newborn but I will admit, watching my Benjamin navigate parenthood is more amusing than I thought” and continued to rumble on about all that the girl had done, from the first feeding to clothing to baby noises. Neither Draco nor Ginny felt like stopping her.

“He didn’t know how to change diapers!” Mrs. Rees shook her head “Well, anyway, I’m sure you two already know about it, was Harry difficult as a newborn?”

Draco and Ginny exchanged a look.

Not letting parents sleep was a thing newborns did right? As long as the woman didn’t question it.

“Terrible!” Draco tried “Couldn’t sleep.” Ginny just nodded solemnly in support.

Mrs. Rees agreed with a smile and they relaxed, glad once more that the woman lived in her own reality.

“And what about now, what are your plans?” the woman asked gently “I don’t think there is a way for both of you to go back to school.”

They felt the pain as they remembered Hogwarts, everything about it seemed so long ago, and the fact they knew they couldn’t go back hurt deeply. The school grounds in winter, snow and laughter as they played with their friends, the lake in the warm days before summer, talking and enjoying the air as they finished their homework. Draco missed the way the light hit the Slytherin dungeon in the morning and Ginny missed the Gryffindor common room and curling in one of the armchairs by the fire.

But they couldn’t go back and to think about it wouldn’t help them.

“I’ve been thinking to search for a job after the holidays are over” and to learn more about being a muggle until then, Draco explained.

The older woman nodded content with the explanation “Good, and what job do you want to apply to?”

Draco opened his mouth but closed it without saying anything, he didn’t know what he was going to do now, what his strengths were, or what jobs he wanted, much less muggle ones.

He felt lost.

“He is very good with numbers, much better than I with money”

Ginny wasn’t lying, since he began to learn about muggle money, he’d learned faster than she expected and had quickly made their spending more efficient. She truly believed in it.

Draco's cheeks turned pink-ish “I was supposed to take over the family business, I learned early” he didn’t know why he felt that he needed to explain himself but did it anyway.

It made sense but Ginny realized then that she didn’t know much about Draco at all, as the only heir he would obviously have to learn how to manage his inheritance and it wasn’t the sort of thing they learned at Hogwarts. It was strange to picture Malfoy, at night maybe, looking over business proposals and accounts of properties alongside his magical studies, all this time and she had no idea.

Who he was, what he liked, what he wanted, she didn’t know.

She supposed he didn’t know her either but she never hid who she was or what she wanted, spirited as any Weasley, and especially after what happened with Tom, she had refused to stand in shadows and hide away but Malfoy had slowly fallen into them.

Could she reach out to him?

The voice of Mrs. Rees bringing her back from her thoughts “So, finances then?”

Draco nodded, it was a sense of direction he hadn’t realized he needed before, he realized then that for years his future was pretty much set in stone, to think that it would take a trip to the past for that to change.

For the first time, he had control over who he would be.

All of this, Draco thought, a bitterness spreading over him, Away from you, father.

“Yes, I think It will be good” and he smiled to Ginny, surprised that it had begun from her.

Ginny smiled back.

“Mrs. Rees, do you want to stay for dinner?” she got up and turned to the woman.

“I don’t want to intrude”

“It’s the least we can do, no intrusion” Ginny explained.

Mrs. Rees smiled “Then I would love it”

Harry reached out to Ginny in the kitchen but Mrs. Rees stopped him.

“Your mum is busy now, won’t you prefer dad instead?” she asked the toddler but he continued to reach for Ginny.

Draco snorted “It’s no use, he doesn’t like me.”

Mrs. Rees frowned and exclaimed, “Oh, he doesn’t!”

“He just cries with me!” he tried to defend himself.

“Nonsense! Come here,” he hesitated so she went to him instead, handing him a squirming Harry.

He picked the baby and saw the tell-tale sign that Harry was about to cry. Draco started to panic, mild sobbing had been by far the best he’d managed so far, the toddler preferred Ginny, why put both of them in that situation then?

“See, he doesn’t like me” Mrs. Rees just shook her head, smiling at the uncomfortable teenager.

“Of course, he doesn’t like it” she laughed “You are scared, and he knows that, he needs comfort, try calming him, maybe speak quietly, smile more”

Now that he thought about it, that was how he calmed Harry at that time too, was that really all he needed? He looked to Harry, green eyes looking back at him, and tried to calm himself, hold the baby more steadily and rock him a little.

Draco had to admit he didn’t expect anything to change but Harry brightened, shining eyes disappearing and instead, he even smiled!

The unfortunate consequence being that Harry was a curious child and took his new opportunity to study Draco, tiny hands all over his face.

“I think I liked him better before”

Ginny and Mrs. Rees laughed.

”Ah! Dumbledore, you’re here!”

The older wizard smiled to the people in the room, Cornelius Fudge being the one that had welcomed him.

“Just because he is gone we shouldn’t lose good habits,” Alastor Moody chastised him “We should question even Dumbledore”

Barty Crouch glared at him instead “Are you implying my defenses are ineffectual?”

“Please, we are here to discuss the current location of Harry Potter, we can leave the rest for later”

The other three agreed, Alastor grumbling about vigilance.

When it had become clear that the boy was not in Godric’s Hollow, Dumbledore had decided to consult with the three men, the auror and the two Minister candidates, as they were the most likely to find the information he needed.

“So,” Dumbledore began “Alastor, anything from the aurors?”

The man snorted “Had to lecture a lot of them, you’d think they’d know how to do their jobs, but nothing! No sign of Potter anywhere.”

“What is the possibility that he left the country?”

“Aside from shady deals? Not much and even then, they’d have to go through aurors in all wizarding communities, if they had, we would know.”

Dumbledore frowned, even his less commendable contacts had had no luck, Harry Potter seemed to elude them at every turn.

“Maybe,” Cornelius offered “he is dead as they say”

The silence between the men was oppressive.

Crouch sighed then “That day we captured the traitor Black”

Dumbledore looked at the man.

“He worked with the Death Eaters, betrayed for them” Crouch explained himself “If they are involved in this, he is the man that would know”

“Question Sirius Black about Potter’s whereabouts?” he asked.

Dumbledore had tried not to think of Sirius Black, his whole being had been dedicated to finding the boy, not sparing a thought to the traitor now in Azkaban, the person that had killed his friends just as much as Voldemort did, but then again, who was he to talk about friends?

Maybe this was the solution he didn’t see, the people closest to the case, he should’ve known better. So he agreed with the idea.

“Then,” Alastor said “Tomorrow I will send aurors to interrogate him”

“But if we fail, then,” Crouch said with an air of finality “we will have to give up the search, we are spread too thin, I think we should focus on the Death Eaters”

“I also think we should focus on that filth” added Alastor.

Dumbledore nodded, he would continue his own research even if the others gave up but it was better to just agree for now, he had his own plans that they didn’t need to know.

Because tomorrow, he too, would visit someone.

Someone who also had a hand in the death of Lily and James Potter.

***

Sirius jumped in his cell in Azkaban.

He had another nightmare, only, it wasn’t just a nightmare.

In the nightmares he was back in Godric’s Hollow, the charms and wards on the house were gone and Hagrid stood helplessly sobbing by the entrance, he had gone to the half-giant, desperate, but he could not understand what he was saying, barely catching ‘Harry’ amidst the sobbing he at least figured out that something was wrong with his godson so he ran inside.

Back then, he thought he would be able to mourn his friends later, so he ignored their corpses, now he wished he’d been able to give them a last goodbye.

He entered the nursery, but there was no child and he assumed the worse, was that what Hagrid was crying about? Was Harry dead? But there was no body, no wretched sight of a life cut short too soon, but Harry, alive and smiling, wasn’t there either. Sirius tried every room of the house when Hagrid’s voice reached him.

“Already tried, looked everywhere” and let another sob.

“But where is he?!” he must have looked positively mad, he kept running his fingers through his hair, worry and pain marring his face. All he wanted was to know that Harry was safe.

Hagrid shook his head, clearly he didn’t know either.

Sirius's expression darkened.

There was one person that might know, the same one that had betrayed them all.

“I need to tell Dumbledore” Hagrid explained, still crying heavily “He had asked me to bring him Harry, but now...now I have to tell him”

Sirius nodded and indicated the motorcycle, to reach the disgusting rat he didn’t need it and he’d rather have his hands free, Wormtail had to suffer “Take the motorcycle, I have to talk to someone”

He then disapparated to find a murderer.

”Wake up, Black!” his guards screamed beyond the bars, looking down at him.

He wasn’t sure if their presence interrupting his memories was a blessing or a curse, thinking about that night reminded him of Harry, the bittersweet of the situation kept him sane, something of his godson that the dementors couldn’t take from him.

He looked at them from the corner of his eyes, hoping for a trial was too much in times when the ministry would do anything to say they were saving the magical population in troubled times. So he wondered what they wanted with him.

One of them sneered “You’re in for questioning”

The other added “For the disappearance of Harry James Potter”

So they were going to blame him for that now? He glared at both aurors, his animagus instincts telling him to just attack but none of that would help and after a month in there he felt very weak. He’d rather keep strength for when he discovered where Wormtail was.

They dragged him through a long corridor and down two sets of stairs, the scream of the other prisoners accompanying them.

A third guard opened a door at the end of the path, the room inside was mostly bare aside from a chair, not unlike the one in the Wizengamot, heavy chains binding him once he sat down, the eyes of the aurors on him at all times. Once they performed the necessary charms on the room they closed the door, only them now.

“The night you sold Lily and James Potter”

“I didn’t--”

“THE NIGHT you hunted down the innocent Peter Pettigrew after returning to the scene of your crime against the ones that trusted you”

“I wasn’t--”

“THAT same night, Harry James Potter, reportedly alive, disappeared from Godric’s Hollow”

Sirius rolled his eyes, they were questioning him but were unwilling to listen to him, what did they hope to accomplish, the list of his crimes?

“You were their secret keeper and You-Know-Who’s informant, if this is your lot’s fault, you should know”

Sirius glared at the two aurors “I don’t know where Harry is and I wasn’t--”

“We have ways to make you talk, don’t lie to us”

“I’m not lying!” Sirius snarled.

“Well, there is more to that night than we believe and you are the one most connected to the case. Where. Is. The. Boy?” the auror got closer.

“I don’t know where Harry is, I didn’t hide him! I. Am. Not. Guilty!”

He barely felt the chains tightening on his wrists, his whole body now in pain, it wasn’t quite as painful as a Cruciatus, but on a weakened prisoner’s body that wouldn’t be much of a difference.

“Consider it a Christmas present.” The sneering auror offered “Now, answer our questions”

His face hidden by his hair, Sirius growled “I didn’t do anything”

“That’s not what Mr. Crouch said, we know your type Black, even with all the evidence against you, you still want to play the good guy” the guard insulted him, disgusted by the person they believed to be a traitor “After seeing your own friends dead, you’d think one would realize, but I guess you are in too deep, so instead, where is Potter?”

Once more the pain hit him but he refused to scream for the incompetent aurors.

The questioning continued the whole day and only once the torture session, for that it truly had been, ended and he rested his pained body on the prison cot, did Sirius let himself think, a tragic thought, he almost wished for the dementors to it take away.

Can’t believe it’s almost Christmas.

***

Severus Snape didn’t enjoy the holidays, he didn’t enjoy most things really, but that Christmas in particular was going to be his worst, most miserable, one yet.

Was it even worth it when Lily was dead?

He kept thinking that there was more he could’ve done for her, maybe reach her that night and talk like they had done back when they were younger. If only he could’ve been with her then, but what could he have really done? They all thought Black was this incorruptible good person and refused to see what he’d seen from day one on the train.

But she had drifted away from him then and was dead now.

And he was alone.

Vaguely aware of what happened around him, he had refused any contact from the outside, Lucius had sent him a letter but it stood unopened in the same spot it had been left by the owl. He didn’t want to hear about his great escape from imprisonment, he barely cared for his regard anymore, a divide was created between him and Lily when they choose their sides, did he still cared for the Death Eaters?

Lucius had been his prefect and to an extent, a friend.

But Lucius Malfoy was a man whose heart held only so much space, power and his family saturated said space and he wasn’t even so sure he knew which of the two mattered most to the man, people did say that one could only know what they treasured the most once they lost it and Lucius Malfoy had still both. What space did it leave for a friend? One such as him, part muggle, even?

Men like Malfoy didn’t have many friends, tools and minions were most likely, allies at best.

Or maybe he just didn’t want to be near someone that didn’t care about the loss he felt deeply in his soul, was he even still one of them after her death? Snape got up from his place on the ground of the house, he needed a drink, something to numb his mind.

He did find the drink but he also found Albus Dumbledore in the kitchen of his house, calmly seated at the table with two cups.

All things he wanted to avoid.

“Am I going to be arrested?” Snape wondered if the man changed his mind about him yet, either way, he poured himself a drink.

“No, I offered my protection and in return, you had to protect Harry Potter once he arrived in Hogwarts,” the man said and Snape grabbed his cup, drinking it at once.

“Whom nobody can find,” he sneered, he wasn’t all that bothered that Potter’s son was missing.

“True,” Dumbledore nodded before fixing his eyes blue on him, searching for the truth in his dark ones “That is where you are needed”

Snape glared at the older wizard “You are not going to ask me to search for the boy, will you?”

“No, but you must know something about this, if your side--”

“My side? You think the Death Eaters did this?” he asked incredulous, maybe slightly outraged, why would any of them want to keep Potter?

“You would know them better than I did, a professor would only know so far” even as Dumbledore said so, his eyes continued inexpressive and Snape had no way of knowing what the man truly thought.

“Most just care about escaping the aurors” he shrugged “And even if they did, the Dark Lord went alone that night”

Dumbledore frowned, deep in thought.

“So, you say,” the man said finally “that there was no one else besides the four of them in Godric’s Hollow.”

That was the truth as far as he knew it, there was no reason to lie about it.

“I thought you placed wards on the boy, can you not feel them?”

Dumbledore got up from the kitchen table and paced the room twice before standing in front of the window, looking pensively to the outside.

“I did, but the blood wards never latched on as he was not delivered to his aunt, and yet,”

Snape observed the man, conscious that what he could see was only what the wizard let him see.

“Somehow, there is a protection over Harry Potter I did not expect, I can feel it but not reach it”

And that was Dumbledore’s question.

That night, what had been more powerful than blood?

It was the day before Christmas and Ginny realized they had no tree.

Really, they didn’t have much of anything, and their money went towards existing until one of them could get a good job, and they had no idea how to deal with being a family yet, and...

But it was Christmas! There would be no fairy lights, no chocolate fudge, no Christmas jumpers, no gnome on the tree, no brothers to laugh with, no mother to tell her not to eat the food yet, no father to smile and talk about muggles with. They should at least have a tree!

And... maybe ornaments if they could?

As the streets were more and more filled with colourful lights and decorations, the more their flat looked grey and dull. Weren’t first Christmas supposed to be magical?

Ginny looked on the ground where Malfoy had decided to spend his day, bored out of his mind, she wondered if he felt the same, if he missed his parents and Christmas with them, if he also wanted to reach for a comforting hand that wouldn’t arrive. It wouldn’t be too difficult to imagine that he’d be missing some fancy gala with the best food and Christmas ornaments made of gold, or whatever rich wizards did to pass the holidays, rather than sharing his spot on the ground with a curious toddler that would occasionally hit him with his only plush toy.

Considering how he used to scream at being left with Draco, she considered that an improvement.

“You are just going to let him?” he had noticed her looking and she thought it just made it funnier, he raised his eyebrow but this show of dignity was ruined by another hit.

Ginny smiled and leaned forward on her spot on the couch “We should buy a tree.”

“With what money?” he scowled at her.

“It’s our first Christmas, we should have a tree!” she exclaimed jumping from the couch and Harry turned towards her, curious at the noise.

Draco decided to just ignore her and close his eyes, block the Weasley when she had one of her ideas seemed like the best option. Only, Ginny refused to be ignored and, instead, poked him in the ribs.

“What?!”

He always looked just a little wrong when he was mad, twitching in contained anger, less than the perfect Malfoy he had been at Hogwarts, she had never noticed that back then, he had always looked haughty in his new pristine clothing and she thought he looked stupid, when mad he was less guarded and it just made her want to do it again.

“It’s Christmas! Not even you can be so nonchalant about it!” she grinned and he sat down huffing.

“Why not?” he asked annoyed but it did nothing to damper her enthusiasm “The only fun about it were the presents and I’m not getting any, so”

“Really, nothing fun about Christmas for you?” Ginny asked in disbelief.

“Our family... my father,” Draco started, eyes glazing “He used the holidays for networking, it was never really much fun.”

Draco didn’t understand why talking about his father came so difficult lately, he wanted to believe the bitterness he felt was only of missing him and that any displeasure was solely on being time-displaced, refused to look further than that.

“Wow,” she laughed “sounds even more boring than I thought”

He rolled his eyes, ready to ignore her again but she stopped him again.

“What now?” his irritation growing.

“We need a tree,” she said, looking intently in his eyes, the soft brown hues making him uncomfortable.

“I doubt they have any we can pay,” he said but got up nevertheless, maybe once he returned empty-handed she’d calm down.

Draco walked towards the door and had grabbed his jacket when he heard Ginny talking to Harry.

“This way we can start our own traditions, as a family”

It stopped him mid-dressing, the way she so casually spoke of them like that.

She, that had once pointed her wand at him, she, that had always stood for everything he hated, she, that had every reason to hate him. She hadn’t forgiven him, he knew that, but somehow that knowledge made it worse, they had so much left unsaid, feelings they buried to stay together by chance and by choice. It felt like a denial of sorts.

What kind of family were they supposed to be like this?

Her audacity turned him bitter and, unsure of what made him so mad about it, he lashed out.

“Weasley,” and when she looked at him, he told her “We are not a family.”

The closing of the door felt like a slap, the sound almost too loud in her mind she didn’t even hear Harry calling her, instead falling back on the couch.

The most unexpected was the fact that it hurt.

Ginny didn’t see that coming, they both had cringed and bemoaned their pretend relationship, she enjoyed seeing him angry and she loved to watch him struggle with the muggle world and how to behave with Harry, they weren’t in love and much less friends, it made sense that it didn’t make them family.

But she hurt nonetheless.

Ginny was glad he had gone, she wasn’t sure what she would have done, scream? Thrown something at him? She couldn’t hex him after all. And it gave her time to think, dig inside of her and finally think about how she felt.

Since arriving in the past she had decided that playing nice and hiding away their past to avoid true conflict was best, every scathing word, every remark, every action, all things she had refused to look at in almost two months. The scene in the store had brought back some of it but the rest had stayed in their corner, afraid of the light.

Now she had to confront the fact that the person living with her was Draco Malfoy, a different name didn’t make him into a different person, he was proud of his family even when his father tormented those under him, he had accepted the dark mark and was a Death Eater, she couldn’t just throw it aside.

Because she was still Ginny Weasley, she was part of the family he had insulted and made fun of, she was there when he made life impossible for her brother and she was there when he brought the Death Eaters into Hogwarts.

Their conflict had always been personal, to deny to look at those facts she also refused herself the chance to move forward.

She had to start at their beginning, she couldn’t blame either of them for their father’s feud, in all honesty, even before meeting him, her opinion of Draco had been made years before, her father had always spoken badly of the Malfoys and she hadn’t ever thought that their son would be different, and with Lucius Malfoy being so different from Arthur Weasley, it was no surprise that Draco had thought the same before ever meeting them.

She could blame him for what he’d done after meeting them, choosing to ridicule based on status alone, they were both children, if he’d reached out she was sure things could’ve been different, but to Draco Malfoy only one opinion had mattered then, that of Lucius Malfoy.

Was it then, Lucius’s fault for leading his son in that direction? When did the blame fall on Lucius and when did it fall on Draco?

Perhaps the answer was that easy, maybe she could have really forgiven him everything.
But she had not forgotten the tower, nor the hurt he brought with those actions.

Ginny had never asked him about it, or even asked herself, why he did what he did that night. It was clearly an order from Voldemort and he had spent a year trying to complete it, almost killing in his journey, did he even regret it? Or were they all just casualties for him?

No matter how she tried to put it, she couldn’t imagine a place at Voldemort table was that important, even for him, but then again, Lucius hadn’t cared about hurt any of them when they were at the Ministry, could she really believe Draco was the same?

There was where she got stuck, after all he’d done, she couldn’t believe Draco was like his father.

For the first time, without having to be Malfoy or Weasley, she had seen Draco, the person that refused to let her go when she wanted to go after Voldemort, the person that had chosen to stay with her and Harry, the person that was now living in the midst of everything he was taught to hate, for them.

How was she to interpret his confusing behaviour?

What was she supposed to do when, as she realized, all she wanted now was to learn more about that person she had never tried to know before, Ginny wasn’t sure how to deal with their past or what it meant for their future.

She felt a hand on her leg, coming back to the present and noticing Harry again.

“Oh! Sorry Harry!” she picked him up, checking to see if he wasn’t hurt and relaxing again when she was sure he was okay, smiling as usual. She sighed “What do you think I should do Harry?”

His green eyes looked at her confused, not really knowing what she asked of him.

“Yeah, thought so...”

After all, only she could answer that question.

***

Draco took a deep breath, staring at the door unsure.

Freezing seemed a better option than an angry Weasley, he wasn’t sure she wouldn’t just hex him, uncaring of the consequences, and even if that wasn’t it, he didn’t want to see how she’d lash out.

After the way he left, Draco feared for his life.

As it is, however, he wasn’t ready to die in the cold so he forced himself to open the door, the Weasleys had all been a furious bunch and he expected screaming on the other side, maybe something like a Howler, either way, he entered the flat cautiously.

“You’re back...”

But his reception was nothing of the sort.

Ginny stood by the couch, holding Harry, with a subdued expression and shadows he couldn’t read, her eyes almost tried to avoid him, as if he was something she wanted to hide from. He hated that more than the screaming, he could see her retreating from him, not physically, the person he’d known for the past two months hiding away.

Draco supposed that should’ve made him happy, Weasley didn’t want to play pretend-happy-family anymore and they could be more as they were back in Hogwarts, more distant perhaps, he barely even knew her anyway, why’d he care? No more levity and complicated shared laughter, no more messing with each other, no more questioning, they weren’t a family and much less friends.

But it still hurt.

Draco frowned and extended his arm, revealing the small plastic tree he bought, it was supposed to be an ornament for a real one, but “This is the best I could find on Christmas Eve”

Taking it from him, her smile didn’t reach her eyes but she thanked him nonetheless.

“Weasley --”

A knock on the door distracted them.

When he opened the door, Mrs. Rees friendly face appeared, behind her a man in his late twenties pushing a stroller and a blonde woman at his side.

“Were you about to go out?” Mrs. Rees asked worried she’d interrupted them.

“No, just came back” he offered a forced smile, his feelings still too conflicted for more than that.

Ginny appeared at his side then, much more relaxed now that there was someone as buffer between them, that offended him a little, he wasn’t the irrational one, damn weasel.

“Please come in, we don’t have much but it’s better than the cold” she smiled.

They thanked her and entered the now much more cramped flat.

“So you two are the Hewitts my mum has talked about so much” Benjamin Rees smiled and shook their hands in turn.

“She has talked about you too” Ginny smiled, she was fond of Mrs. Rees rambling after all.

“Hope it was good” Gwen Rees also shook their hands but looked at them with worry after “You two look much younger than I thought, how old are you?”

Draco shrugged “I’m sixteen” the two adults paled as he imagined, he knew they’d receive that kind of look from then on, he tried to not let it bother him.

“So young, and Harry is even a year old already, I’m twenty-seven, can’t imagine going through this so soon” Gwen seemed horrified but he chose to ignore it.

Ginny instead decided to introduce Harry to Daisy, the toddler being completely unimpressed, laughing she asked “What are you doing here today? I thought you would spend Christmas at home”

“Well, we were going to” Benjamin smiled “But mum was restless, couldn’t imagine you three spending Christmas alone, so we decided to come all, the things you do for family, really”

The man shrugged and missed the way their façade fell for a moment, unable to confront each other with so many people around.

“And!” exclaimed Mrs. Rees resolute “Next Christmas we will bring you a good Christmas tree!”

Hours later Mrs. Rees, her son and his family were talking on the couch, Harry delighting the three with his babbling, Mrs. Rees even jokingly said that it was a good practice for Benjamin to know how to deal with a toddler considering how unprepared he’d been with Daisy, a joke that he took in good-spirit and laughed alongside them.

But Ginny was instead focused on the window and Draco wondered if she was thinking about her family, then reprimanded himself, of course she’d be thinking of them. Her eyes dark, the light not quite reaching that window, he wondered if maybe now, they would be able to talk.

When he got closer her eyes shifted, turning to the plastic tree from before, eyes glazed.

Standing at her side he couldn’t bring himself to talk, to begin that conversation, words dying as soon as he thought them, and when she looked at him, he gave up on talking entirely.

Her hand reached his, holding it for a moment she whispered:

“Merry Christmas Malfoy”

Before joining Mrs. Rees again, leaving him colder than before.